We are pleased to announce that Sean Cochran, a nationally renowned golf fitness instructor and the personal golf fitness trainer to 2005 PGA Champion Phil Mickelson, has joined PGA.com as a fitness advisor. Cochran, who also has served as strength and conditioning coach for the Milwaukee Brewers and San Diego Padres major league baseball teams, will write a weekly fitness blog that will appear exclusively on PGA.com. He'll update it a couple of times a week, telling you about how to achieve better fitness, life on the road -- and in the gym -- with Lefty, plus answer your questions about fitness and how it can help you play better golf. More of Cochran's articles and his acclaimed fitness aids are available at his web site, www.bioforcegolf.com.
Develop Strength the "Right Way" for Your Golf Swing
The final Major of the year is upon us, and the pairing of the century may be also. The 2006 PGA Championship at Medinah Country Club outside Chicago will be played this week. Phil Mickelson is defending and if you have not seen the pairing sheet go check it out. Phil and Tiger are paired together for Thursday and Friday. The gallery for this group will be immense and I don't know if the reigning Master, and British Open Champions have ever been paired together for the PGA Championship. One of you history "buffs" let me know.
As we continue our trek to developing you a better golf swing through golf fitness training. We need to discuss some principles to help guide you through the process. I have touched on briefly the importance of choosing strength training exercises that are beneficial to your golf swing previously. I like to keep the phrase: "there are no bad strength training exercises just bad ones for golf" in my mind at all times.
Essentially what I am saying with this phrase is the following: there are certain strength training exercises that are good for your golf swing and others that may be not so good? How do you determine the difference?
Quite simply by using the principle of Cross-Specific Training. This principle simply states the greatest benefit for the golfer (which is you) will be the utilization of strength training exercises, training the body (muscles, nerves and skeletal) to the positions, movements and physical requirements of the golf the swing. Makes sense if you think about it.
I mean how often do you see a football player running marathons to get ready for the season? You don't! Simply because running marathons is not going to get the football player's body ready for the season.
The same can be said for the golfer. It is necessary to implement strength-training exercises that are cross-specific to the golf swing. The utilization of this principle for the golfer will result in what is called a transfer-of-training effect onto the course. This simply means the training program (i.e. golf fitness program and exercises within it) have a direct benefit on the performance of the golfer on the course.
For example, when training for a marathon, a runner will include several long training runs. This prepares the runner's body for the rigors of the marathon. The same can be said for the golfer: If the desire is to improve your golf swing, drive the golf ball farther, get rid of nagging lower back injuries, and lower your golf scores. Utilizing cross-specific golf fitness exercises is a must!
Keep in mind as the last major of the year plays out the importance of cross-specific training in the choosing of your strength training exercises to improve your golf swing.
Previous blog entries:
08/08/06 Want to Maintain the Angles in Your Golf Swing?
08/01/06 Utilize Strength Training to Maintain Your Spine Angle
07/24/06 Strength in Your Core to Drive the Golf Ball Farther
07/11/06 Use Progression to Keep Improving Your Golf Swing
07/04/06 Dynamic Balance Exercises
06/27/06 Two Types of Balance are Key to Your Golf Swing
06/20/06 Balance in Your Golf Swing Leads to More Power
06/13/06 Getting Yourself Ready for a Round of Golf
06/06/06 Joint Range of Motion and a Fluid Golf Swing
05/29/06 Flexibility Exercises to Help with Those Tight Muscles
05/23/06 Guidelines for Your Golf Flexibility Program
05/16/06 Assess Your Flexibility First
05/09/06 Better Golf Exercises to Improve Your Swing
05/02/06 Developing a Repeatable Golf Swing and Your Body
04/26/06 Increasing the Clubhead Speed in Your Golf Swing
04/18/06 How To Prepare for Your Round
04/17/06 Swing Faults are Not Really Swing Faults
03/27/06 You can improve balance in your swing
03/24/06 Improve Your Flexibility and See Results in Your Swing
03/20/06 Your Body is the Foundation of Improving Your Golf Swing
